The Extraction Order
by TruePlainHearts
Summary: When Agent Grant Ward is given a mysterious extraction order to save a hacker from her van before a team of unknown mercenaries capture her and go into hiding, things get complicated... fast.
1. The Extraction

So, I really needed to get back to a head space where Ward is the good guys because frankly, my poor shipper heart is breaking. I hope this provides others with some small sense of comfort...

* * *

Skye was once again in her van in another non-descript alleyway, hacking into to the secured servers of yet another government agency when the door slammed open and changed her life forever. A tall man wearing a dark suit and even darker aviators stood with an stoic expression and tense stance.

"You have 30 seconds before a team of mercenaries come for you. Trust me or die; those are your choices."

No introductions, no context; the man simply waited for her response. There was something about him though. Skye knew he was telling the truth. She didn't know how but then she had always had a knack for reading people, even if the T1000 in front of her seemed to have no emotions at all. With sweaty palms and her heart nearly beating out of her chest, Skye grabbed the single laptop she was working on and scrambled out of her van. He immediately pulled her down the alleyway at a sprint, but as it turned out she had taken a second to long to process.

Suddenly a man appeared, blocking their path a gun trained on them. Whoever the man in the suit was, he didn't even hesitate. He just kept running at the man. Skye watched in horror as he lept and disarmed the man in one movement. Before their attacker even had time to process, her would be savior had shot him at point blank range in the head.

Skye muffled a scream with her shaking palm but the man in the suit ignored her, just grabbing her arm and pulling her away before the rest of the assault team closed in. If she had of thought she had any chance to fight him off and run in the opposite direction she would have. She knew though from the emotionless expression on his blood splattered face and the tight grip he had on her arm that she was trapped with this man who claimed to be saving her life.

They rounded another corner to see a black sedan waiting and he pushes her towards the passenger door with a stern "Get in", that leaves no room for argument. Skye climbed into the leather seat with tears beginning to form in her eyes and had barely gotten the door shut before the man in the suit floored the accelerator and they were speeding away from danger though Skye didn't feel any relief at all.

"You killed that man." Skye whispered, clutching her shaking hands to her side as warm tears rolled down her cheeks.

"He would have killed as both without blinking." The man defended without a hint of remorse.

"I don't even know you!" Skye yelled desperately. "How can I trust you anymore than those other killers."

Skye would have thought that blatantly calling someone a killer would have garnered some sort of emotional response but he remained as stoic as ever.

"My name is Agent Ward and I _am_ a killer but I have orders to make sure no one kills _you_. That is all you need to know." Ward muttered, staring at the rear vision mirror before pulling the car back to a more reasonable speed once he was sure they had not been followed.

"How do I know I can trust you?" Skye asked with a shaky voice.

"You already do otherwise you never would have left that van."

Skye knew it made no sense but it was true. She trusted this man, this killer, even though he could be leading her to a fate worse than the one that had almost claimed her in the alleyway.

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Okay that was just a shorter teaser intro. I already have the next two chapters written so I will post them soon. Let me know what you think.


	2. Honey and Napalm

I couldn't resist posting the next chapter right away...

* * *

They had driven for another 20 mins before Ward pulled into a private airfield on the outskirts of the city.

"Get out." Ward ordered as he stepped out of the sedan, not even bothering to take the keys with him.

Wordlessly he led her towards a military plane with a white eagle insignia she recognized... S.H.E.I.L.D. Nobody really knew what that stood for or what they did. Skye only knew that they had descended on New York after been destroyed and disappeared afterwards just as quickly without a trace. There was not a single other person to be seen anywhere on the airfield which only make Skye more apprehensive. The Agent walked up the already open cargo hold into into the plane that was ready and waiting. He had planned all of this.

"It's a 13 hour flight. Buckle up." Ward said, nodding towards they cold metal cabin lined with seats and cargo bays before disappearing into what Skye could only assume was the cockpit.

Skye crossed the cabin numbly to sit on one of the seats that lined the sides. With still shaking, clammy hands she buckled the harness and jumped as she heard the cargo hold ramp slam shut. The plane immediately began taxing down the runway and Skye gripped the seat with white knuckles when it suddenly accelerated down the runway. She gasped as she felt the tell tale dip in her stomach that told her the plane had left the ground. She was flying 13 hours, god knows where with a man she didn't know that had just killed someone right in front of her. As the weight of the situation slammed down on her Skye couldn't hold in the sob that wracked her body, making her entire body shake and her gasps echo off the sterile metal walls. She sat there crying for longer than she cared to keep track off before the exhaustion of her tears suddenly caught up with her. She didn't know how many hours she had sat in her seat and sobbed or how many hours blissful sleep had claimed her for but Skye was suddenly awoken when someone kicked her foot.

Startling awake, Skyes puffy eyes snapped up to see Agent Ward standing over her. Thankfully he had taken a moment at some point to wash away the blood spatter across his cheek. She watched him take in her disheveled appearance and the obvious proof she had been crying before crossing the cabin to take the seat directly opposite her.

"Who's flying the plane?" Skye asked worriedly, later amused that in this crazy situation _that_ was her first question.

"There's this thing called auto pilot. We are over the Atlantic Ocean." He replied with an amused smirk, the first emotion Skye had seen cross his features.

"Where are we going?" Skye questioned further.

"That's need to know and you don't. I need to know why those men were after you." Ward said, his tone turning confrontational. Skye squirmed in her seat as this began feeling more and more like an interrogation.

"I don't know. I swear." Skye answered, tears threatening to spill over again.

"Why were you in that van?" The Agent pressed further.

"I... It's my home. I have lived in it every since I ran away." Skye answered. "Don't you already know all this? You are the one that found me there."

"I was given co-ordinates and an extraction order. That's it. What were you running away from? Who do you work for?" Ward stood up, towering over Skye as an obvious attempt to intimidate her.

"No one! I ran away from the foster system when I was 15. I don't work for anyone. I'm nobody!"Skye yelled, her stubborn side beginning to break through her state of shock. "I'm not with the CIA, NSA, S.H.I.E.L.D. or any other acronym you want to accuse me of!"

"How do you know about S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Ward asked, his eyes narrowing with distrust.

"I saw the emblem on the side of the plane! You think I'm an idiot?" Skye shouted back, unbuckling her harness so she could stand even though Ward still towered over her.

"No average civilian even knows about S.H.I.E.L.D. so who the hell are you!"

"I'm a hacker, okay. I hack into agencies like your beloved S.H.I.E.L.D. and make sure the public knows what it needs to."

Ward scoffed and turned away from her.

"A hacker? Seriously? Why the hell would S.H.I.E.L.D. send me to protect someone hell bent on taking us down?" Ward yelled.

"I don't know! No one has ever tried to protect me in my life! None of this makes any sense." Skye screamed, her fiery exterior cracking once more as her tears burst through again. Before Ward could interrogate her any more she ran out of the cabin and back to the cargo hold, slamming the large metal door between them. She knew it wouldn't stop him from coming after her but she prayed he wouldn't.

Skye collapsed against the wall, sliding down until she was tucked in a tight ball clutching her knees as the shaking took over once more.

Ward didn't go after her straight away but after an hour he figured she had cooled down enough. He went into the cargo bay to find her huddled on the ground. He sighed and decided to try for a slightly different approach. Ward crouched down as Skye peek up at him between wet eyelashes.

"Look, I'm sorry." He said and Skye almost believed him. "I'm not a... people person."

Despite the situation, Skye couldn't contain an undignified noise that was somewhere between a snort and a scoff.

"But..." Ward continued, struggling to his a smirk at her fire. "I don't have nearly enough information here. I was sent in to extract you just as a team was closing in... no intel, no background. Just that I was to keep you safe and await further orders. I don't know enough to do my job here. I need you to tell me what you can. Not just for my sake, but for yours."

"So he swaps the napalm for honey..." Skye mumbled to herself, running her hands through her hair in frustration.

"What?" Ward asked with a confused look.

"Nothing... Look I'm telling you the truth. For years I have just been in my van, minding my own business. Well not that you can really call hacking minding my own business but no one even knows that it's me that's doing the hacking. I'm not involved in anything. I don't even really know anyone."

"No one in your past? No family?" Ward prodded further, though with slightly more tact and empathy than his first approach.

"I don't have any family. Like I said, none of this makes any sense." Skye sighed, frustrated and over the pointless questioning.

"Alright fine." Ward sighs, standing up and offering Skye a hand to help her up. "Maybe my contacts in Italy will know something."

"Look I know I'm not a secret agent or whatever the hell you are but don't you usually just call up HQ and _ask_ what the hell is going on?" Skye reluctantly let him help her up, not wanting to upset the tentative truce they seemed to have reached.

"Usually, yeah." Ward answered. "Not that I should even be telling you this but the only other detail I got about this mission that it was to be off radar. I was to go dark and await further instruction, no matter how long that takes. You aren't the only one none of this is making sense for." Ward grumbled as he walked back into the cockpit.

Skye just watched his retreating back, more confused than ever.

* * *

As always, please review.


	3. Chianti Country

I feel I need to justify Skye's reaction a little bit after a review. She has just been attacked sitting in her lonely little van, watched her would be savior kill someone who would have killed her, not to mention getting on a plane headed god knows where with a man she doesn't know at all. I consider myself a strong person but I would be a shaking mess after that. Not to mention after Skye found out Ward was Hydra she had a freak out, much like the one I wrote, but quickly dusts herself off and gets the job done. Strength isn't in never breaking down. It's in standing up after you have been knocked down and getting on with it. I definitely don't want Skye to be a weak character but I need more than 2 chapters to show her strength. Don't worry, she is gonna be a force to be reckoned with.

* * *

Skye tentatively approached the cockpit door, laptop in hand, and knocked softly. When there was no answer she decided to just go in anyway.

"So I decided that since I am falling off the grid I might as well lay a few breadcrumbs in the wrong direction." Skye announced as she breezed in and sat in the co-pilot chair, ignoring Ward's grumpy side-eye.

"How about you leave the covert ops to the covert operative." Ward deadpanned, concentrating on his controls.

"Obviously your scary good at the whole... combat thing." Skye hedged, still not over watching him kill a man. "But there is more than one way to disappear."

"Wait how did you even get access to wi-fi? This is a level 7 secure system!" Ward questioned, clearly annoyed.

"Oh, that's cute." Skye said with an offhanded laugh. "Now, I laid a false trail to Cuba under one of my aliases. Plane tickets, customs crossing records, the whole she-bang. I even hacked the airport footage and left tiny hints of tampering."

"You know, you're doing a really bad job of convincing me you're just a civilian." Wards deadpan tone continued though there was a note in his voice which betrayed that he was at least a little impressed.

"This trail is not going to be easy to find but if they do it will lead them to a room in a resort in Cuba. I've got a program monitoring the door to that room. If they enter it, we will know. At least then we will know what we're up against."

Okay now there was no hiding the fact that Ward was impressed.

"You did all that in... " He glanced at his watch. "... 25 minutes?"

"It's a gift." Skye gloated with a sly smile. Who the hell was this woman?

"Now, do you need me to hack the aviation administration and delete flight manifests." Skye asked, turning back to her computer.

If he was being honest, Ward was a little offended.

"You think I'm some hack rent-a-muscle?" He scoffed indignantly. "There is no record of this flight anywhere, hell according to S.H.I.E.L.D. inventory the damn plane doesn't even exist. Give me a little credit."

Skye couldn't contain he smirk.

"My mistake." She said innocently, settling in to continue working whether Ward wanted her company or not.

It was Ward that broke the hours of silence first.

"ETA 10 minutes. Buckle up." He said, beginning his landing checks. Skye watched fascinated as he flicked carefully selected switches, turned dials and guided levers.

"Hey what does this one do?" Skye asked reaching forward.

"It ejects the co-pilot." Ward grumbled as he swatted her hand away from the control panel.

"Did T-1000 just crack a funny?" Skye asked incredulously, buckling her harness.

"Why aren't you in the cabin again?" Ward asked annoyed as he continued his checks.

Skye just scoffed as she sat back and waited to land. She couldn't help but be amazed as the plane dipped below the clouds. It was all greenery and breath-taking jagged hills.

"Where the hell are we?" Skye asked yet again.

"Italian Alps." Ward answered with a sigh. What didn't this girl understand about need to know?

Ahead Skye saw the Alps give way to a large, flat valley with a tiny black line Skye could only assume was a runway. How the hell did pilots do this? She could barely see it. She tried not to let her nervousness show as they go closer and closer to the ground. Thankfully it was slowly seeming like a less impossible task.

With a sigh of relief Skye felt the plane touch down on the runway. Though she didn't know how long that would last because she still didn't really know exactly where she was or why.

Ward taxied the plane to down the runway, parking it beside a small structure that looked like the entrance to a bunker.

"Come on." Ward said, getting up and leaving the cockpit.

Once they were out on the tarmac Skye jumped as she heard the bunker door open, still a little wary after the last person who snuck up on her. Another man dressed all in black walked towards Ward and handed him a set of keys without a word.

"We were never here." Ward spoke with a pointed tone that carried a hint of a threat.

"Yes sir." The man said and crossed to the plane without a backwards glance.

They both then got into the parked SUV and Ward drove off. The complete silence eventually became too depressing for Skye.

"Okay, this is weird. I've told you my whole life story and I don't even know your first name." Skye groaned. "This hell of a day has been long enough without being trapped in total silence."

"You talk to much." Ward mumbled.

"Fine... robot." Skye muttered under her breath.

"Grant." Ward said with a sigh.

"Huh?" Skye said, confused.

"My first name. You asked." He clarified, glancing sideways at her.

"Oh, right. Okay then, Agent Grant Ward." Skye said, drawing out the syllables of his name.

A comfortable silence settles in the car but Ward knew better than to think it would actually last.

"So were you a ninja-slash-terminator from birth or were you actually human once?" Skye said teasingly, trying to elicit some kind of rise out of him.

"Came straight from the factory." Ward grated under his breath.

_Childhood's a no go... noted,_ Skye thought to herself.

"Can you at least tell me why we are in Italy." Skye was nothing if not persistent.

"I told you I have contacts here. They are just outside of Florence. If anyone can find out why the hell I've been put on this mission without raising flags, it's them."

"Chianti country... could be worse I suppose." Skye mumbled under her breath, finally giving up on conversation. Thankfully, the countryside was more than beautiful enough to keep Skye occupied. She wished that she were traveling under much different circumstances but she might as well take the pros where she could find them.

Skye couldn't help but take her phone out of her pocket, snapping a few photos of the the castles perched on the hilltops lined with grape vines and olive trees. She even managed to sneak one of Ward and his stupid handsome face just to prove that she could. Eventually the roads they were driving on got narrower and more winding. Eventually Ward pulled into a driveway surrounded by a giant stone archway that looked as old as the hills themselves. Skye couldn't contain an awed gasp as they rounded the corner.

"A castle? Are you freaking kidding me?" Skye squealed excitedly, she just couldn't help herself.

"It's a winery, Skye. Calm down." Ward said, rolling his eyes and shutting off the engine.

"Wait why are we at a winery? I though we were meeting scary, ominous sounding _'contacts'._" Skye said in a falsely dramatic tone, complete with air quotations.

"These particular contacts are in retirement." Ward said, walking up to the entrance. "Let me do the talking."

Eventually they made their way up to a large wooden door with beautiful wrought iron trims and Skye couldn't help but marvel at every new sight around. She had never traveled overseas before but it was obvious that this was old news to Ward. He just looked around with the same expression that was halfway between wary and disinterested; an odd combination really.

Eventually the door swung open to reveal a man so totally opposite to what Skye had been expecting she began to wonder if maybe they were in the wrong place. They were greeted by a middle aged man with a kind face and an even friendlier smile.

"Ward, it's good to see you." The man said sounding genuinely genuinely surprised.

"You too, Coulson." Ward said with a hint of a genuine smile.

"And who is this?" Coulson asked, turning his attention to Skye.

"That's classified, but I'm afraid we need your help." Ward replied as Skye rolled her eyes.

"The name I gave _myself_ is hardly an international secret, Ward." Skye said with a scoff, completely forgetting Ward's 'let me do the talking speech'. Skye stepped forward and offered her hand to Coulson. "I'm Skye."

Coulson eyebrow shot up as he took in this young girl, the first person he had ever seen, other than himself, call out Ward's ridiculously literal adherence to protocol. He just watched the exchange with curious eyes as they both rolled their eyes at each other. _Interesting_.

"Come in, I'm guessing you will be needing May's help too." Coulson said, inviting them in.

* * *

Ten minutes later, they were all settled around the large dining table along with Coulson's... well Skye wasn't entirely sure who she was. She introduced herself as Melinda May. Skye was struck by how different she and Coulson seemed. Coulson was all warmth and smiles while May was closed off. It wasn't that she was completely distant, not as much as Ward at least. They just seemed like an unlikely couple but it became clear by the way Coulson sat close to her and the way her hand trailed across his shoulder without even thinking as she got up to get them drinks that they weren't just housemates.

"So how do you all know each other?" Skye asked, breaking the silence.

"We uhhh... worked together." Ward answered, giving nothing away.

"Right." Skye said, falling silent again.

"So what is it you needed our help with?" May asked, the first full sentence she had uttered since they arrived.

"Things that don't make sense." Ward replied, looking at Skye beside him.

"I received orders 24 hours ago that I was to extract Skye here. No intel or background. When I arrived there was a team closing in for her." Ward continued.

"Doesn't sound that out of the ordinary." May replied, eying Skye warily. Skye sighed, resigning herself to the fact that most people were going to automatically assume she was a threat in this situation.

"That's the thing. Nothing about her warrants this kind of attention. Sure she is a hacker but she has never really crossed path with anyone of consequence. Certainly nothing to justify a level 10 protection order." Ward finished, talking as though Skye wasn't even in the room.

"Still here, Robot." Skye muttered under her breath, folding her arms in front of her.

"Wait, level 10?" Coulson questioned. "That could only have come from Hill or Fury."

"Exactly, and I have been told to go dark. I figured you two would have direct, off-book contact to Fury so I can figure out what the hell is going on."

"Why haven't you followed orders, gone dark?" May asked with narrowed eyes, obviously suspicious of why Ward of all people was breaking protocol. "It's not like you haven't carried out missions like this before."

"Nothing about this is like those other missions, May." Ward said, frustration grating his voice. "I can't do my job. I can't protect her if I don't even know what the threat _is._ I'm used to going dark but not going in blind."

"Okay, time." Coulson said with a tight smile. He was clearly used to defusing the tension between May and Ward, Skye noted. "Make yourselves at home, you two. We'll look into it."

With that, May and Coulson left them sitting in awkward silence.

"I'll show you to one of the spare rooms." Ward said gruffly, getting up and walking up the stairs, clearly knowing his way around. Skye followed after him with yet another eye roll.

He showed her to a beautiful room, straight out of a movie with unfinished stone walls, a large wrought iron bed and a fireplace which of course wouldn't be needed considering the warm summer weather but it was nice to look at nonetheless. Though, perhaps most blessedly of all, there was a large claw foot tub in the adjoining bathroom. Skye made a slightly undignified squeal when she saw it, keen to wash away the trans-Atlantic flight, not to mention the attempt on her life.

"I'll ugh... leave you to it." Ward said, disappearing without another glance.

She quickly locked the door behind him and all but ran to the bathroom, quickly running a bath and even adding some bath salts she found sitting on the vanity. Stripping and sliding beneath the warm surface Skye couldn't help but laugh a her surroundings. Here she was in the Tuscan castle of a couple she had met mere minutes ago, relaxing in a bathtub with the window beside her displaying the most perfect view anyone could imagine. Well she certainly couldn't complain her life was boring anymore. If she was being totally honest with herself she was terrified but curling up in a ball wasn't going to help her at all. She might as well keep her wits and stay calm.

She took that as a perfect excuse to stay relaxed in the bathtub until the sun set over the hill out the window and her skin resembled a prune. When she finally got out she realised that the rushed departure from her van meant that she hadn't exactly had time to to pack an overnight bag. Skye eyed her pile of dirty clothes trying to figure out her next move. With a shrug of her shoulders she wrapped the towel securely around herself and scooped up her clothes. With a level of stealth she liked to believe rivaled that of her mysterious ex-operative hosts, Skye stuck her head out the door to check the hall was clear. Sneaking down quietly in search of a laundry of some description she glanced over her shoulder, only to feel herself crash into something very solid.

"What are you doing." The solid obstruction asked.

Of course it was Ward, Skye thought to herself with a sigh, much to too exhausted to be embarrassed.

"What does it look like?" Skye asked, looking down at her armful of dirty clothes.

"Right." Ward said, concentrating very hard on only looking at Skye's face and not the small towel wrapped around her or the wet strands of hair that were sticking to her neck. _Dammit_. "The laundry is downstairs on the left."

"Thanks." Skye said, immediately walking off. She found a laundry complete with washer and dryer exactly where he had said and was glad when she noted they were one of the only things in the house from this century. Despite the beautiful countryside, Skye new the lack of wifi was going to prove a real problem for her. After loading her clothes into the washing machine she walked back to her room, resigned to the fact she was no ninja and sneaking was utterly pointless. She almost ran into Ward again on the return trip as well.

"I got these for you." Ward said holding what looked like a black T-shirt and drawstring sweats. "I only keep a few things here, Sorry. I'd try and find something of May's for you if I wasn't so sure she would knife me in my sleep if I went through her stuff."

"Uhhh, no they're great. Thanks." Skye said with a small smile. She was going to make a robot-sleep joke but figured that she might as well try to be nice since he was making an effort.

"I'm headed down to the kitchen, If you wanna come down after you're dressed." Ward said, reminding Skye that she hadn't actually eaten anything in almost a whole day.

"Um, yeah that would be good. Thanks." Skye said before walking in the direction of her room.

She really was going to get whiplash at Ward's mood swings if she wasn't careful. She quickly dressed even though the clothes were way too big for her. She couldn't help but laugh at her appearance in the full length mirror beside the bed as she rolled the sweats up her legs so she could actually walk. Oh well, Skye shrugged as she went off in search of the kitchen. The gnawing in her stomach would not be ignored since Ward had reminded her of just how hungry she actually was.

By the time Skye found the huge kitchen, complete with one of those huge old ovens that looked like a massive chimney there were already delicious smells wafting through the door. Skye couldn't help but do a double take at the man she had literally watched kill a man, who had been almost totally closed off since she met him working in the kitchen, looking completely domestic. It was an odd contrast that threw her for a loop. She also couldn't help but admit to herself for the first time that he was ridiculously good looking. Ugh, could this day get any more confusing, Skye thought to herself.

"Smells good." Skye said, taking a seat at the counter. "Who would have thought super spy could cook?"

"It's pasta, Skye." Ward replied with an eye roll that was becoming somewhat of a habit for them_._ "Not like it's hard."

She watched as he stirred the pot of sauce that smelled of tomatoes and basil while simultaneously checking on the pasta.

"You seem to really know your way around here. Do you stay here often?" Skye asked, trying to start a conversation but fully expecting to be shot down again.

"I do a lot of... business in Europe." Ward hedged, careful not to give to much away. "I usually end up here for my brief down time."

"Not a bad place to do it." Skye said with a smile, still not entirely used to the beauty around her.

"That's true. Plus the wine's not half bad either." Ward said with small grin, passing her the bottle he had been both cooking with and drinking.

"Touche." Skye said, grabbing a glass and pouring herself a drink.

"Any news from Coulson and May?" Skye asked.

"No. It might take a while." Ward said, straining the pasta. "The man they are trying to contact is not easy to get a hold of."

Judging from Ward's tone, Skye figured that was the understatement of the century.

"Don't worry, you're safe here. We will figure this out soon enough." Ward said, mistaking Skye's frown for fear.

"I know." Skye replied. "I just hate not knowing what the hell is going on."

"You and me both." Ward mused as he placed a bowl of pasta in front of her and made his way around the counter to sit next to her with his own.

They ate in comfortable silence as they ate. When Skye finished, she got up and began washing up, an old habit from her days at St Agnes. Everyone there had been expected to pull their weight and she thought nothing of it as she cleaned the kitchen in no time.

"Ah, thanks." Ward said, passing his bowl to her.

"No problems." Skye replied offhandedly. "You cooked... and saved my life. Figure I can at least wash some dishes."

Ward wordlessly dried and put away the dishes as they worked in oddly perfect synchronization. Coulson and May surfaced for the first time from their hidden communications room in the cellar, silently observing the scene playing out in their kitchen from the hall.

"That's new." May noted with a raised eyebrow while Coulson just smiled knowingly. They both made their way up to their quarters, turning in for the night.

Just as Skye drained the last of the water and bubbles from the sink she couldn't contain a wide yawn, the two glasses of wine and forty-something hours without any real rest finally catching up with her.

"Thanks for dinner. I'm gunna head to the laundry then bed." Skye announced, making her way to the door.

"Listen Skye, we might be here a few days." Ward said and Skye turned back. "We can go out and get you some provisions tomorrow."

"Sounds good, Robot." Skye said with one last yawn, leaving the ever confusing Ward standing in the kitchen.

* * *

Okay I'm sorry if this got a little too fluffy for people. There will be a big mix of fluff, angst, drama and action throughout this fic so hopefully it will have something for everyone. Plus even agents and hackers on the run need to take a pause for laundry and sustenance. Oh and the castle they are at is actually based on a winery I visited in Florence earlier this year. Skye's reaction is basically my own. I might put some holiday snaps up once I figure out the best way to do it.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	4. Stupid Cheekbones

Thanks so much for all the lovely reviews. You guys are too kind.

* * *

When Skye finally woke up the next morning, the bright, warm light flooding through the bedroom window told her that she had probably slept longer than she should have. She begrudgingly got out of the bed and made her way to the bathroom only to be disappointed by her lack of a toothbrush. The sooner she went to get provisions, or shopping as normal, non-robotic people call it, the better. She had to settle for a quick face rinse before dressing in her freshly laundered clothes and going of in search of Ward. The place was so huge that it took a good few minutes wandering around before she heard signs of life, let alone saw anyone. Skye heard a slew of grunts and smacks coming from the lower levels and questioned whether she really wanted to go investigate but figured why the hell not. She peeked inside the door to see what looked like a gym, complete with large weights equipment, treadmills and a huge mat in the center that was currently occupied by a Ward and May.

Skye watched in amazement as May and Ward sparred with fast, lethal moves. A fast and brutal flurry of attacking and blocking. It was odd that seeing Ward so lethal actually made her feel safer. No matter who was sent for her she knew that Ward could more than match them, though she hoped he never had to. The thought of someone else getting hurt protecting her, or worse, made her stomach turn.

Perhaps most impressive was the fact that May, who Skye clearly underestimated, was keeping up with Ward. She was much smaller but seemed just as strong and maybe even a little quicker. This was proven when May executed as series of moves that ended with her sweeping Ward's legs out from under him, landing him firmly on his back. Skye couldn't contain a soft giggle at the fact that a woman in retirement had put super spy Agent Grant Ward on his ass.

"Something funny?" Ward grumbled, though not unkindly, as he dragged himself to his feet.

"Not a thing." Skye teased, before turning to May. "Nice moves."

"If you think it's so easy, why don't you have a go." Ward bristled but there was a hint of a smirk on his face.

"Raincheck. Maybe after some ninja lessons from May." Skye replied as Ward grabbed a towel.

"Anytime." May replied, still obviously relishing in her victory.

"Sorry to interrupt, though." Skye said, realising she had just barged in on their training session. "I woke up and couldn't find anyone."

"We're done anyway." May replied, heading for the door, brushing past Skye. "I always like to finish when when I'm ahead."

Ward just rolled his eyes at her gloating. She didn't often get the upper hand on him but she sure as hell enjoyed it when she did.

Skye couldn't help but notice she was now alone with a very hot and sweaty Ward.

"Sorry I just wanted to come and ask about going out for _provisions_." Skye said, stressing the last word. "You have no idea how much I wanna brush my teeth right now."

Skye cringed at her slight over share but shrugged it of quickly enough.

"Yeah sure, there is a place about 30 minutes from here." Ward replied, walking towards her.

"About that though, I didn't exactly have a chance to grab my piggy bank on the way out of my van." Skye said awkwardly. For as long as she had been an orphan she had hated asking for help and handouts.

"Don't worry about it." Ward dismissed. "Give me 20 minutes to shower up and we'll go."

"You don't have to go with me." Skye interjected. "I mean I have to get clothes, toiletries, the works. You could just give me directions and I could borrow the car?"

"Not gunna happen." Ward replied firmly. "You were attacked by a squad of heavily armed men not 48 hours ago. I'm meant to be protecting you remember?"

"Ehh, okay." Skye said, realising this was one argument she wouldn't win. "I guess I'll just meet you out front."

Skye used the time she was waiting for Ward to wander through the small garden in front of the castle. There was something utterly perfect about wandering on cobblestone paths through hedges and blooming flowers. She could totally see why Coulson and May had retired here. Retired from what though, she wasn't entirely sure but she knew better than to ask. Skye took the time alone to think about how much had changed since Ward had slammed open her van door. No matter how much she wracked her brain she couldn't come with a single reason why someone might be after her. She had led a fairly uneventful life. Between St Agnes Orphanage, her countless foster homes and her anonymous hacking from the van she had lived in since she was 15 nothing much of consequence had happened.

Sure she hacked into plenty of things she shouldn't but she was good enough to cover her tracks. Plus if the any government agencies had caught on to her activities they would have sent a man like Ward to lock her in handcuffs and then a tiny little cell, not take her out with a team of automatic weapon toting thugs. Then there was what Ward had said about Level 10 orders. She knew enough about S.H.I.E.L.D from hacking and May and Coulson's reaction to know they were high level orders. Why would the top brass of S.H.I.E.L.D. want to protect her? Plenty of crap had gone down in her short life and no one had wanted to protect her then. Why now?

It wasn't until she heard Ward calling her name in the distance that she realised she had gone into her own little world. She turned to see Ward looking at her questioningly from near the front door of the house.

"Yeah, sorry." Skye said, jogging over to him. "I'm coming."

"You okay?" Ward asked when Skye reached him.

"I'm good." Skye answered with a smile and she could tell Ward didn't believe her. "Let's go."

* * *

Thirty minutes later Ward was pulling into the parking space at a large mall, his hands gripping the steering wheel a little tighter as he observed all the people milling around the car park.

"In and out, okay?" Ward said tersely. "It's low risk but still, no chances."

Skye just nodded, though she couldn't help feeling like Ward was maybe being a bit too over-cautious. She got that that was basically his entire job description but still, the people after her still hadn't turned over her little Cuban Resort rock. There didn't seem to be any real reason to panic just yet. They walked in to the mall and Skye was relieved to see all the stores she recognized.

"I do love globalisation." Skye muttered as she walked towards a giant H&M store. Ward followed silently, his eyes darting around vigilantly.

"Just let me grab some basics." Skye said, picking the first things she caught her eye. "I won't be long, promise."

Skye soon realised that it wasn't until you lost every single one of your worldly possessions that you appreciated just how much stuff you need. She grabbed only the bare minimum but still ended up with a armful of clothes.

"Crap." Skye muttered, remembering the most basic of all when she spotted the underwear section. Well this was going to be awkward.

"Uhhh, hold these would you. I'll be right back." Skye muttered, dumping her armful of clothes on Ward.

"I'm coming with you remember." Ward grumbled, obviously to happy to be relegated to the role of clothes horse.

"Ward I'm quite certain there is no-one waiting for me in the underwear section with a gun." Skye teased and she could help but laugh at Ward reaction.

"Right, sure." Ward replied awkwardly. "I'll uhhh, wait here."

"Good plan." Skye said with a smile, leaving him standing amongst racks and racks of clothes, looking like he would rather be in an actual war zone.

Skye quickly grabbed what she needed and a large duffel bag. Unfortunately she knew that they wouldn't be staying with May and Coulson for much longer, even though Ward had never really mentioned it. The though of living out of a bag again bothered her more than she let herself admit. It reminded her of the few sad posessions she carried from foster home to foster home as a child in a faded backpack. There was no point dwelling on it though, Skye quickly reminded herself.

She quickly returned to Ward who now looked like he was in physical pain.

"Okay, let's go." Skye said, almost laughing at the visible relief on his face.

They went to the counter and Skye began feeling awkward about letting a virtual stranger buy her a whole new wardrobe. There was little she could do about it though.

"_Ciao, come stai oggi?_" The woman behind the counter greeted which made Skye weirdly nervous, not knowing at all what she was saying.

"_Bene, grazie._" Ward replied automatically as Skye shot him a surprised look.

The woman quickly checked and bagged everything and Ward paid cash, making Skye shift uncomfortably beside him.

"I said don't worry about it." Ward said softly noticing her discomfort, handing her one bag while he carried the other.

"Thanks." Skye mumbled.

They made one last stop at a chemist for what Skye hoped was deodorant and toothpaste because she couldn't read a word on the packaging. With enough basic products so that she could at least feel human then they were on their way back to the car.

"Do you mind?" Ward asked as he stopped in front of the bookstore.

"Sure." Skye said, following him.

Skye watched as he quickly selected a couple of titles from the classics section noting that they were all in Italian. He must be fluent then, Skye thought to herself. As he scanned the shelves Skye watched his entire body tense which was no mean feat considering he seemed tense all the time. He quickly replaced the books haphazardly on the shelf.

"What's wrong?" Skye asked, worried.

"There's a woman watching us. Ten o'clock." Ward replied in a hushed tone. "On my mark, walk directly to the car. Do _not_ stop if I have to engage, got it?"

Skye glanced worriedly in the direction Ward had told her and couldn't help but laugh when she saw a young blonde woman watching Ward much more intensely than she was watching her.

"Oh tell me you aren't _that_ oblivious." Skye laughed as Ward glared at her as though she was singlehandedly blowing an entire mission.

"What? We need to go." Ward hissed, convinced she was going to get them both killed.

Skye just laughed harder, having to actually hold on to the shelf beside her for support. She eventually recovered enough to string a sentence together.

"She's checking you out, idiot." Skye laughed even harder at Ward's reaction.

"What? No she isn't." Ward said glancing over to the woman again as she quickly averted her eyes.

"Oh really? Watch this." Skye said with a sly smirk as she leaned closer and wrapped her arm around Ward's waist, leaning in to his firm chest like a girlfriend would. If he was any more tense he would literally turn to stone. Skye shot the girl a pointed look with one raised eyebrow and the blonde all but ran out of the shop with flaming cheeks at being caught.

"Told ya." Skye said, pulling back and looking up at Ward still laughing. "Get your damn books, Mr Paranoid."

Ward took a moment to recover but quickly cleared his throat, grabbing the books he had chosen and taking them to the counter.

Ten minutes later they were back inside the SUV with a pile of bags on the backseat and Skye still laughing softly from the passenger seat.

"Are you done?" Ward deadpanned.

"Oh that was so much more hilarious than your robot circuitry can appreciate." Skye giggled.

"I'm used to being surrounded by threats and last time I checked, that awareness saved both our lives." Ward said, annoyance clear in his tone.

"Oh relax. And yes, I am grateful for that." Skye said, trying to control her laughter. "I just find it hard to believe that someone who looks like you doesn't realise when they're being checked out."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh come, Mr Tall-Dark-and-Handsome. You and your stupid cheekbones." Skye said rolling her eyes.

"What's wrong with my cheekbones?" Ward asked indignantly.

"Nothing! That's my point!" Skye laughed. "Oh, forget it."

They rode the rest of the way in a comfortable silence and Ward managed to swallow his protests when Skye started fiddling with the radio controls, settling on a station she liked. When they finally pulled up at the winery again, Skye quickly gathered her things from the backseat.

"Thanks again for these." Skye said, waving the bags slightly. "I'm just gunna go put them in my room."

Ward just nodded, grabbing his own books and heading to the kitchen. His earlier sparring session with May, not to mention traipsing after Skye in the universe's largest women's clothing store had left him feeling hungry. Apparently he wasn't the only one because just as he was settling on the counter with one of his books and a sandwich Skye came into the kitchen, making a beeline for the fridge. Ward watched as she pulled out an apple and washed it in the sink.

"Watcha reading?" Skye asked conversationally.

"La Div-ee-na..." Skye started reading of the cover in terrible Italian.

... _Commedia di Dante Alighieri: Inferno."_ Ward finished offhandedly in perfect Italian that even Skye couldn't deny was at least a little bit sexy. What was it about foreign languages?

"Oh right, I think I've heard of it. Well the English version anyway." Skye said, vaguely recalling it.

"It's always better in Italian." Ward said as though he had read it more than a few times while placing the book face down beside his sandwich, with a sigh. It was clear he wouldn't get much reading with Skye in such a chatty mood. "Plus the author was born here, so why not?"

"So how many languages do you speak exactly?" Skye asked, taking a bite out of her apple.

"Six." Ward answered.

"English, Italian...?" Skye listed, waiting for Ward to fill in the blanks.

"French, German, Russian and Spanish." Ward finished.

"Lots of business in Europe... right." Skye remembered what he had told her the day before. "Impressive. I tried learning French once but CS languages always seemed easier."

"_Français n'est pas si difficile._" Ward said with a smile.

"Yeah the fact that I barely understand that very basic sentence is proof that it is that hard." Skye said with a laugh. "Show off."

They both ate and cleaned up quietly and Ward was thankful for the silence. It wasn't that Ward disliked her company but she did talk entirely too much.

"I don't suppose you ran into May or Coulson on your way in?" Skye asked hopefully.

"Sorry, Skye. Still nothing." Ward answered.

"That's okay. I guess I'm just going a little crazy with all the waiting. Plus no wifi for a hacker is like living without a limb." Skye joked. "I even had to smash my phone SIM into little tiny bits. It hurt me Ward, in my soul."

Ward couldn't help but be a little impressed that she was able to joke about all this. He was also kind of amazed how she was taking most of this in her stride.

"You know Coulson has some board games. I can grab them if you're bored." Ward said, trying to be empathetic to the roller coaster she had been on for the last few days.

"I thought you were reading?" Skye asked with a smile. "You don't have to entertain me."

"Thats okay." Ward said, getting up and heading to the closet in the living room. "Plus I think he has my favourite."

Skye laughed and followed after him.

* * *

"G7."

"Hit." Ward groaned, ignoring the little victory dance Skye did in her chair. "B10."

"Miss." Skye countered with a cocky smirk as Ward just missed her battleship. She was definitely winning. She was closing in on his last battleship and he was still looking for three of hers.

"I see you aren't as good with humility as you are hacking." Ward mumbled, sticking a little white peg on his board.

"Oh don't be a sore loser." Skye joked. "Wait, was that almost a compliment?"

"What? No." Ward defended.

"I dunno. It sounded like you think I'm a good hacker." Skye teased.

"Yes Skye, you are excellent at breaking the law." Ward deadpanned as Skye laughed.

"Well we might have to add Battleship to my skills set because... G4."

Skye watched as Ward's eyes flitted down to his board and he ground his teeth.

"Say it." Skye gloated. "Say it, Ward."

"You sank my battleship." Ward mumbled with a defeated sigh.

"Yes!" Skye exclaimed, her seated victory dance back in full swing.

"You know I might be a sore lose but you are an insufferable winner." Ward said with a roll of his eyes and a laugh.

"Oh, quit pouting." Skye teased, noting Ward's first actual laugh since she had met him. "Betcha, I can do it again."

They both began resetting their boards as May and Coulson walked in, having followed the completely foreign sound they could only assume was Ward's laugh.

"I thought you were meant to have superior tactical skills, Agent Ward." Coulson greeted them, ribbing Ward further.

"It's more stabbing in the dark but one thing is for sure... I'm better at it than he is." Skye laughed, enjoying that Coulson was jumping on the bandwagon. Turns out, he wasn't the only one.

"Seems like it's the day for it." May added, smirking about her earlier victory.

"You guys done?" Ward asked shaking his head.

"Actually, yeah we are." Coulson said, his tone dropping. "Ward, you got a minute?"

"Uhhh, yeah." Ward answered, standing up and following May out the door with an apologetic glance at Skye.

"Sorry, Skye." Coulson said. "This is classified."

They all filed out of the room, leaving Skye alone with her empty board game victory and wondering what the hell was happening.

Ward followed May and Coulson downstairs into the cellar.

"What's going on?" Ward asked, taking in Coulson and May's tense faces.

"We can't find them." May answered.

"Hill and Fury?" Ward questioned.

"Both of them are off grid. It seems they disappeared shortly after the order was put out for you to do the same with Skye." Coulson explained. "They aren't answering any of my back-channels and they _always_ answer."

"Something is wrong." May finished and they both glanced at her nervously.

"So what now?" Ward asked, referring to the hacker upstairs.

"Lay low. Stay here for now. She'll be safe." Coulson answered. "We'll keep digging."

Ward just nodded, trying to hide just how worrying their news was.

"I'm going to let Skye know that we'll be staying here for a while. I need to tell her something." Ward said, making his way back upstairs.

He found Skye idly fiddling with the tiny little Battleship pegs with her chin resting on one hand. She looked up hopefully when she heard Ward return.

"Look I know you're probably not allowed to tell me anything but I'm going crazy here." Skye said desperately.

"I shouldn't be telling you this but..." Ward hedged, choosing his words carefully. "We are at a bit of dead end. The people who should be responding aren't and we are still in the dark."

Ward watched Skye's shoulder's slouch at the news.

"I know it's not what you wanted to hear." Ward said.

"It's not your fault. I know you are all trying to find answers." Skye said with a grim smile. "Thanks for letting me know."

Skye walked off in the direction of her room, wanting to be alone.

Ward was worried when Skye didn't surface for dinner but decided against bothering her. He walked past her door on the way to his own and couldn't help but pause as he heard a soft whimper. Trying to ignore the invasion of privacy, Ward pressed his ear to her door. He heard more soft sounds and it sounded like she was in pain.

"Skye?" Ward called out through the door to no response. "Skye I'm coming in."

Ward opened the door, the moonlight coming through the window illuminated her tangled up in her sheets, her hair a knotted mess as she tossed and turned. The pained whimpers had progressed to full blown sobs and Ward decided that he had to do something.

"Skye." Ward called, walking over to her. "Skye, wake up."

He reached out to touch her arm, trying to wake her. The second Ward touched her though, he felt a surge of energy that blew him back with a gust of air. He groaned as his back smashed into the stone wall behind him.

The force startled Skye awake and she looked around frantically only to find Ward looking shocked, crumpled on the floor.

"What the _hell_ was that?" Ward yelled, his whole body trembling.

* * *

So I couldn't resist including my own version of the Battleship scene. Also, the H&M thing has a certain significance. On my trip, all of us girls on my tour ended up visiting a H&M in every country. It became "thing". Seriously, they are everywhere over there. I couldn't not include it; ahhh good times.

I hope you all liked this chapter and the wee twist at the end. Don't forget to review and maybe share your predictions/theories. I'd love to hear them. Before you ask though, there is a plan and I must say I'm quite proud of it. I hope you'll like it too.


	5. Andy and Liv

Before Ward even had a chance to pull himself up off the floor Coulson and May had burst into Skye's room. With wide eyes they took in a dishevelled and confused looking Skye, sitting in her bed, her eyes darting around the room as though she had just woken from some sort of terror. Perhaps more disconcerting however was the look of shock and what looked like fear on Ward's face. He was notoriously locked down and buttoned up so to see him so out of control and beyond his depth was something almost entirely foreign to them both.

"What happened?" Coulson asked no one in particular.

Skye was the first to respond since Ward was still clambering back onto his feet.

"I have no idea. When I woke up Ward was on the floor and I must have been having a nightmare or something." Skye's voice was still a little shaky as she wiped the cold sweat from her brow.

"Why were you in here, Ward." Melinda asked, trying not to jump to too many conclusions.

"She _was_ having a nightmare." Ward explained, his vocie oddly distant. "I heard her and came in to wake her up. She looked like she was in pain so I tried to wake her by touching her arm."

"Fair enough, but how did you end up on the floor?" Coulson asked trying to peice together this weird situation.

"That's the thing. When I touched her..." Ward's voice trailed off, his throat constricting.

"This energy blew me back. I don't know what happened." Ward explained after pausing long enough to process it himself. "But it wasn't just a physical force, something else happened; something I can't explain."

"Ward I'm sorry." Skye apologised even though she wasn't entirely sure what for. "I swear nothing like this has ever happened. I don't know what's going on." Skye was bordering on hysterical, still emotionally catching up from her particularly vivid nightmare and the fact that her room was full of people, one of which she just blew clear across it.

"Whoa, slow down." Coulson said, trying to diffuse the tension. "Skye I know this might be new to you but May, Ward and I, we have encounted things out of the ordinary. Unexplainable things that you may not believe so I need you to trust us when we say we will figure this out."

Skye could only nod and wonder about the weird things they had seen. She was beginning to think S.H.I.E.L.D. was more M.I.B. than F.B.I.

"I know this is a personal question, but can you tell us what the nightmare was about?" May asked, with a kindness and empathy that would have suprised Skye if May hadn't already subverted just about every first impression she had of her.

"It might help us to figure out what happened." Coulson added softly, trying to put Skye at ease.

"I was... it was about my time in the foster system. The Brodies." Skye began, working up the courage to share one of her darkest memories. She looked up to see May and Coulson's worried looks, well familiar with the kind of things that can happen in the system. "They were good people, it's nothing like that. I was nine and I had been with them for 3 months. It was the longest I had ever stayed in one place. I was stupid enough to think it would last."

Coulson and May looked at her with empathy, put thankfully without pity, while Ward stared at her with an odd look on his face as though he was remembering his own demons.

"I thought that I was going to stay there. I even called her mom one day and about a week later, without any warning they said they were sending me back to St Agnes. It didn't make sense and all they would tell me was that it wasn't a good fit. The umm... nightmare. It was me relieving that day. I used to have that same dream all the time as a kid but I haven't in a long time."

Skye finished, exhausted and a little uncomfortable having shared one of her worst memories with people she had only known for a day.

"I think I may know why those men were after you." Ward said ominously from his post, leaning against the wall. He still looked a little winded.

"Why?" Skye, May and Coulson all asked at once which would have been a little comical if not for the circumstances.

"When I touched her, I felt it all." Ward said, pausing before elaborating. "I felt overwhelming sadness, rejection, hopleness. I didn't have any of the memories or anything, just the crushing emotion." Ward explained, he reaction suddenly making sense. "When the force hit me it was as though all those emotions hit me at the exact same time."

Ward shared a pointed look with Coulson and May as they all began to think about what that might mean while Skye was on the outside of their silent conversation feeling completely out of her depth.

"Wait so you're saying that came from me?" Skye asked, disbelief evident in her tone. "That I somehow... transferred my emotions to Ward? You guys realise this is crazy."

"Well about that..." Coulson said ironically.

"It's kind of what we specialise in, Skye." May explained.

"But nothing exactly like this before." Coulson said, his tone a mixture of awe and apprehension.

"Coulson, you might be seeing all the ways her powers might manifest but you know what I see?" Ward hissed, his brow furrowed and stress evident in his stance. "I see all they ways people like the ones who nearly took her could _use_ her. Could you imagine? Someone who could transfer emotions or control them at will. Make the most sceptical recruit suddenly trust a cause with unwavering loyalty. As someone who just experienced it first hand, prolonged exposure could be a particularly creative and effective torture and we have no idea how far it goes."

Skye was left sitting on her bed, desperately trying to process. In a matter of a minute she suddenly had crazy powers that could be used for unspeakable evil. Of all the reasons she had imagined someone was after her, this was infinitely worse than anything her mind could conjure.

"But how did they know?" May asked. "I mean clearly she didn't even know."

"I don't know. We know nothing about her past. Where she comes from." Ward growled, pacing beside Skye's bed.

"Still here you know!" Skye shouted, recovering from her shock enough to be indignant about them discussing her as if she wasn't even in the room.

"Sorry, Skye." Ward muttered, pausing his frustrated pacing to look at her. "Are you sure you don't know anything else about your past? Nothing else you can tell us?"

"I told you everything, Ward! I've looked my entire life and I've found nothing. Why do you think I became a hacker? I have hacked every government agency and database looking for the slightest hint about my past. I've told you all I know!" Skye's shock had given way to full blown anger. It was bad enough she had to spend her entire life knowing nothing, but now she had to defend herself when he accused her of keeping things from him? There was nothing; no secrets to keep.

"Wait that's it." Ward muttered, his eyes widening as though something had suddenly occured to him.

"Coulson, she's a damn good hacker. You think it's odd that she couldn't find anything at all on her parents?" Ward words rushed together as he tried to make Coulson understand.

A little of Skye's anger ebbed away when she heard Ward's commendation of her abilites, but only a little.

"Could you enlighten us?" Skye yelled, bringing his attention back to her.

"She's an 0-8-4." Coulson whispered in realisation, staring at the petite but firey girl in front of him going toe to toe with a man few would dare challenge.

"A what?" Skye hissed. "What the hell does that mean?"

"It means, we don't know what it means." Coulson replied, his riddles making Skye increasingly agitated. "Something of unknown origin."

Skye looked to Ward, her eyes appealing to him to tell her what the hell was going on.

"It's a S.H.I.E.L.D. term. It refers to potentially dangerous objects we know almost nothing about. That's what we do... or did, Skye." Ward explained, the situation somehow making him forget all about the fact that she probably didn't have clearance to know that. "We would find them, protect them, diffuse them. Usually its a weapon, or an alien object but it can also be..."

"A person." Skye realised, still reeling about her knew and completely terrifying status.

"That's why I was ordered to come after you." Ward said, glad that something was finally making sense even if it wasn't in the least bit comforting. "Who better to send after a secret, off-book 0-8-4 than a specialist in 0-8-4 recovery."

"But that still doesn't explain my apparent crazy powers." Skye asked, trying her best understand the truckload of crazy she had just dumped on her.

"Do you remember Lorelei?" May asked.

"I'd rather not." Ward groaned, glaring at May.

"She could control a man's will, his actions." May continued.

"You think she's Asgardian?" Coulson asked, considering the possibilities.

"Wait! Asgardian?" Skye interjected incredulously. "You mean, like Thor?"

"No." Ward replied, ignoring Skye's outburst. "Sif said that Lorelei used sorcery. She learned it, practicied for centuries. This felt entirely different."

"Okay later you are telling me that story." Skye only half directed towards Ward since she knew he wasn't really listening to her anymore.

"Skye this is serious." Ward said exasperated. Apparently he had been listening to her after all. "We don't know if this is biological, if you were affected by something, or how far this goes."

"Ward's right." Coulson said. "But I know someone who can find out."

Coulson and Ward exchanged a knowing look before Ward gave him a sharp nod.

"Skye, pack your things. We leave for London in the morning." Ward said and left.

Skye could only sit in her bed watching everyone leave without any further explaination, more confused than ever.

* * *

After precisely no sleep, Skye watched the sun rise, the new light filling up the beautiful room part of her wished she could stay in forever, hiding from the real world. But as it turned out, the real world would come and find her anyway. She sat up at the sound of a knock on her door. A moment later, Ward let himself in to her room.

"We leave in half an hour, Skye." Ward said, leaning against the door.

"Okay, be there soon."

Skye quickly got out of bed and showered before tossing all her meagre possessions, including her laptop, into the small duffel bag and throwing it over her shoulder. With one last look back at the perfect room she had stayed in for far too short a time, she headed for the kitchen.

She found Ward sitting at the very same counter that had both eaten dinner at the previous night. He had a collection of papers spread out across the counter and Skye spotted her own picture among the piles. She picked up the passport, scoffing at the fake name.

"What?" Ward asked, distractedly.

"Olivia?" Skye asked in an incredulous tone. "Do I seriously look like an Olivia?"

"Do I look like a Andrew?" Ward replied dryly, holding up his own fake passport. "We are whatever we need to be to get across the border."

"Fair enough." Skye muttered, looking at the rest of the papers.

"About that…" Ward trailed off. "We need to look as inconspicuous as possible."

"Got it, head down." Skye agreed.

"Not just that." Ward said. "Couples raise far less red flags than people traveling alone."

"Touchy-feely at the border, got it." Skye just nodded and helped herself to some breakfast.

"You sure you're okay with this?" Ward asked. He needed to be sure of her before they tried to enter another country with fake passports.

"Oh please, after our little show in the bookstore yesterday it will be a piece of cake." Skye teased before digging into her cereal.

"What show?" May asked as she walked into the kitchen with Coulson following close behind.

"Nothing." Ward replied a little too quickly.

They both just ignored his odd behaviour, getting their own breakfast.

"When we get to the border, let me do the talking. I have all the papers here." Ward said holding them up. "Tickets, passports, hotel reservations, prepaid travel cards under our fake names; everything to make us look like just another American tourist couple."

"Is that everything?" Skye asked, knowing it was important that she didn't draw any unnecessary attention at the border.

"We'll discuss the finer details of our cover on the way to the airport." Ward answered, gathering his their documents and putting them in his own duffel bag.

"We'll leave in five." Coulson said, earning a questioning look from Skye.

"Coulson is going to drive us." Ward explained.

"Who exactly are we going to London to see?" Skye asked, annoyed that she hadn't been given any details but not really holding her breath.

"Scientists... the only ones we trust." Ward said. "Hopefully they can get to the bottom of this."

* * *

Three hours later the faceless voice over the loudspeaker at the airport told them boarding for their flight had started. They had already made it through Italian customs with no issues but Skye knew better than become complacent. Borders are always far stricter entering a country than leaving one, or so she had heard.

"Ready, Andy?" Skye asked, teasing Ward about his fake name as much as she could.

"After you, Liv." He threw right back at her.

"Still not as bad as Andy." Skye laughed as they both grabbed their bags and joined the haphazard line that had begun to form around the boarding gate.

Thankfully it was only a two hour flight to London. Skye didn't know if she could handle another 14 hour flight, though the fact that she had been hysterical about nearly getting killed had probably made the flight seem longer. Ward had made sure Skye new every little detail of the cover that would get them over the boarder once they touched down at Heathrow. They were Olivia Langford and Andrew Holt. Olivia was a CS student at NYU while Andrew worked in private security. "Stick to what you know." Ward had explained when he detailed their cover stories. They were travelling through Europe for their third anniversary. They had been in Florence for a week and were London bound before they finised their trip in Paris. That was their story and Skye kept replaying over and over in her head.

"Don't be too worried." Ward had reassured her as Coulson drove them to the airport. "These passports are as good as the real thing and all our reservations are real. Just remember the story and we will be fine."

They filed onto the plane and Skye couldn't help but note that it was her first on-record international flight. She shuffled down the narrow isles that almost made her miss the plane they had flown to Italy on, even with it's cold sterile walls at least their was room to move. Ward took Skye's bag and put it in the overhead locker while she sat down in her window seat, dutifully fulfilling the caring boyfriend cover. Skye tried not to notice the way his black shirt pulled up to reveal the sharp vee above his hips that not even she could ignore.

"You okay?" Ward asked, taking in the odd look on Skye's face.

"Yup." Skye answered with a fake smile, busying herself by buckling her seatbelt.

Skye took out the small phone she kept hidden in back pocket, switching it off before doing the same for the phone that still was unfortunately little more than a camera and angry-birds device.

"Little old school for a computer science specialist don't you think." Ward asked quietly, nodding to the phone that had to be at least 10 years out of date.

"It's in case I get a call from my friend in Cuba." Skye replied pointedly, reminding Ward of the virtual trip wire she had set. Skye leaned closer under the guise of whispering something in his ear, concious of the crowded cabin around them.

"No GPS. Even if they can trace the number which is _very _unlikely, they can only narrow the signal down to a 5 mile radius instead of a 5 metre radius." Skye explained.

"Smart." Was all Ward said before he they both pulled away from each other.

Thankfully no one took the seat beside Ward leaving the whole row to themselves. Of course, Skye quickly claimed it.

"Move over one so I can put my feet up. There's no damn legroom in these planes." Skye whined, poking at his side.

"It's only a two hour flight." Ward answered with a roll of his eyes. "Plus, I'm a full foot taller than you."

Skye almost did feel sorry for him, with his knees pressed firmly against the seat in front. Serves him right for being so damn tall.

"Do you want the seat?" Skye asked sarcastically, gleening a withering look from Ward. "Great, then move over."

Instead of arguing with her, Ward just unbuckled seat and moved to the towards the isle.

"Happy?" Ward asked sarcastically.

"Yup." Skye said, reaching foward to pull up the armrests and swinging her feet onto the seat. "Thanks _honey_."

Ward just rolled his eyes at her fake endearment and pulled out his book that he had shoved into the seat pocket. Skye just made herself comfortable, leaning against the window.

"How can someone so tiny take up so much space?" Ward grumbled to himself, more than Skye but she couldn't help but smile.

Skye distracted by fiddling with the in flight entertainment system before settling on a episode of some generic but passable sitcom.

Soon enough they were coming in to land at Heathrow. They both moved back to their original seats as Skye relunctantly relinquished her makeshift bed.

When the plane touched down and taxied into the gate they slowly made their way of the plane, carrying their bags. It was at this point that Ward began to worry, though his training meant that not a hint of it showed. He was about to illegally cross the border with a green civilian with unexplained powers who was being chased by god knows who. People unfamiliar with undercover work tended to overact the couple cover and that was what Ward was most afraid of.

As it turned out, he needn't have been worried. Skye could lie with the best of them as it turned out. Her body language was subtle and easy, standing close to him as though she was comfortable but nothing about it was forced. As they made their way to the customs gate, even when Skye asked which line they needed to be in, she easily touched his arm and leaned into him that she could be heard as though that kind of contact was utterly normal. If she was nervous she wasn't showing it and Ward couldn't help but be impressed. The long wait in line didn't even phase her as she looked around with a tired and bored expression like all the other travellers.

When they reached the customs officer Skye handed her passport and Ward's (or rather Andrew and Olivia's) with steady hands.

"What is the purpose of your visit?" The stern, stoic officer asked from behind the sheet of perspex.

"A holiday." Ward answered simply.

"How long do you plan on staying."

"6 days then on to Paris." Ward answered again, his tone sure and easy. Skye even smiled at the mention of Paris as though she was just another eager traveller.

"Do you have reservations and information about connecting flights?" The man asked, gesturing to the documents Ward was holding.

"Yes, hotel reservations, our flight to Paris then home to New York." Ward listed, handing over each.

The border control officer slowly took in the documents, confirming their story. He took one last look at Skye and Ward, carefully comparing them to their passport photos before putting a stamp in each and handing everthing back. With a dismissive nod, they were through.

Their few belongings all fit inside the small bags they carried so they immediately made their way to the taxi rank. Skye couldn't help a small giggle at the funny little black taxis she had only ever seen in movies.

They both filed into the back of the cab and Ward gave the driver an address. Part of Skye wanted to gloat about her awesome acting job but she held her tounge while there was cabbie listening in.

"So how exactly do you know these people we are meeting up with?" Skye asked, careful to avoid any suspicious sounding details.

"They used to work with May, Coulson and I. We were in the same team for 3 years before May and Coulson retired so they moved back here to work." Ward answered.

Skye was beginning to imagine boring, middle aged scientists who spoke in dull monotones about things Skye couldn't understand. As it turned out, she could not have been more wrong.

After a long drive through the city that Skye had longingly watched zoom by from her window, the taxi pulled up infront of a non-descript building that could have been like any other office block. Ward paid the driver and they both got out, Ward leading her up to stone steps and into a very boring looking lobby. There was not a single pice of furniture in the small foyer, only a buzzer system beside the elevator with a screen and intercom system. Ward crossed to the screen as though he had done it a million times.

"Grant Ward." He spoke clearly and Skye watched as beam of light she could only assume was a retina scan illuminated his face.

The elevator door suddenly opened and when Skye got in she noticed there were no buttons to choose the floor you wanted to go to. This was getting more and more spy-tech by the minute. Once they were inside the elevator it began curiously moving down rather than up. When the doors finally opened Skye gasped as she saw a lab so huge she could barely find the outer walls. It was all white, glass and chrome with so many large machines she couldn't begin to imagine the function on. Two scientists, completely unlike Skye was expecting, rushed towards them.

"Agent Ward, it's so good to see you." The beautiful woman of about Skye's age greeted in a proper British Accent.

"Jemma." He replied, and Skye watched on surprised when he pulled her into a sisterly hug with a smile on his face. So much for robot. When he pulled away, it was the man's turn to greet them.

"Ward, how ya doing?" He asked in an Scottish accent, with a firm thump to Ward's back which just made him roll his eyes.

"Oh, now where are our manners?" The woman Grant had called Jemma said, turning to Skye. "You must be Skye. It's so nice to meet you."

"Uhhh, hi." Skye replied, at an obvious disadvantage. They obviously knew exactly who she was while Skye didn't have a clue.

"I'm Jemma Simmons and this is Leo Fitz. I understand we are going to help you with a little mystery."


	6. Rose Coloured Glasses

Skye would be lying if she said she didn't immediately like Fitz and Simmons. Where Ward was closed off and reserved, they were warm and talkative, seemingly without a filter between they mouths and incredible brains. If was refreshing and not at all what she had expected from the S.H.I.E.L.D. super scientists. If she was being honest, Skye thought she would be in for long days of being poked and proded by old, dry scientists who hadn't left the lab in years. She was glad to be utterly wrong this time.

"Coulson filled us in on what happened to you last night." Jemma said conversationally, as though it was the most normal thing in the world. "We are just going to run a few simple tests and simulations to see how far these new abilities go and how much control you have over them. Sound okay?"

Skye couldn't help but laugh softly to herself about how Simmons had made this all seem like nothing more than a routine checkup with a GP. Oh, the stories these guys must have...

"First I'm going to take just a little bit of blood and Fitz is going to attach some electrodes to you forehead to monitor and record your brain waves." Simmons said and Skye sighed when she realised she wasn't going to get off completely prod free.

"And here I was thinking I could avoid needles my whole life." Skye grumbled.

"Wait, you have never had a jab...ever?" Ward asked, suddenly very interested. "Not a single vaccination or blood test?"

"Nope." Skye answered. "I guess my stellar record ends now."

"But that is impossible. Every child has to have routine vaccinations." Fitz said, his mind following the same path as Ward's.

"Someone knew about you." Ward said softly, more to himself than to me. Skye let her mind drift back to all the times when the other children at St Agnes had been taken to the doctor, coming back with a bandaid on their arm and red-rimmed eyes. She had never really wondered why she never went, thinking only that she had dodged a bullet.

"Odd indeed." Jemma muttered. "No matter. We will get this all figured out in no time."

Skye couldn't help but think to herself that she loved Jemma's shiny outlook and confidence. She didn't share it but hey, it was a refeshing change from Ward's doom and gloom approach.

She winced as Jemma drew her blood, wishing she had continued her needle free run.

"Alrighty then. I'm just going to stick these on and we can see what is happening under that bonnet." Fitz said in his thick scottish accent that still made Skye smile. He held up two little nodes before sticking them to her temples.

"What is this, the 1800's?" Skye asked, confused. "I'm not wearing a petticoat and I'm sure as hell not wearing a bonnet."

An uncharacteristic snort of laughter came from Ward's direction and Skye couldn't help but smile at the mirth on his face. It was nice to see him at ease, even if it did seem somehow unnatural.

"He meant 'hood'. Like on a car. Look under the hood?" Ward explained still laughing. "You get used to their weird names for stuff after a while."

"That'll be quite enough from the colonies, thank you." Fitz joked, exchanging a smile with Jemma over his joke.

Skye watched their conspirital exchange closely and couldn't help but smile as she felt their friendship and love radiating from them. Fitz and Simmons had obviously been more than lab partners for a very long time.

Just as Skye was watching them, trying to figure out if theirs was sibling-like love or the far more crazy and consuming kind, she got her answer in an entirely unexpected way. It was like she was seeing Simmons through a weird kind of perscription lenses. The kind that shrouded Simmons a soft glow and made the whole world fade out so that only could her smile and the small dimple that appeared in her right cheek remained. It was like she was shrouded in rose light, but more than that. Like it was radiating from her alone. Like she was the only source of light in the room. Skye knew immediately who's lenses she was seeing Jemma through, and she felt guilty for accidently stealing a glimpse.

"Woah." Skye mumbeld to herself, blinking rapidly to block the thoughts out. It felt like she had invaded Fitz's privacy in the worst possible way without ever meaning to.

"You okay?" Ward asked, walking closer to Skye with a worried expression.

"Uhhh, yeah I'm fine." Skye answered, trying to sound casual. "Just a bit of a headache. Maybe from the flight. I'm fine."

"Right, of course." Jemma said with a sympathetic smile. "We have enough to be getting on with for now, don't we Fitz? Why don't you show her upstairs to her room, Ward? We will call when I have the blood test results and Fitz has analysed the brain activity he just recorded. The more strenuous test can wait until tomorrow."

"Thanks." Skye said, jumping off the exam table and pulling Fitz's weird little stick antennae off as she went. She picked up the small duffle bag that held all of her worldly belongings and hurried to the elevator. "Come on, Ward."

Without saying a word, Ward walked with her to the elevator but as soon as the doors closed Ward began his interrogation.

"What happened?" Ward asked, looking her over for any physical hints for her odd reaction in the lab.

"Fitz and Simmons... Are they together?" Skye asked hurriedly, ignoring Ward's question.

"What? They are always together. They went through University, the Academy, S.H.I.E.L.D.. They're never apart." Ward explained, still thoroughly confused.

"But are they _together?_" Skye asked, stressing the last word and making her meaning clear.

"No. I mean, I don't think so. I'm pretty sure they would have told me." Ward answered. Their conversation halted as the elevator doors opened on what looked like the floor of a hotel with plush carpet and a series of mumbered doors. They both got out but didn't move down the long corridor.

"Oh boy..." Skye sighed, freezing just outside the elevator. "This might get awkward."

"What will get awkward, Skye? I don't understand." Ward was becoming increasingly agitated and Skye knew she would have to spill the beans. _Sorry Fitz._

"I think we can add another dotpoint to my list of weirdo powers." Skye began. "I felt something downstairs. Something that came from Fitz."

"What kind of something?" Ward asked, even though he had a fair idea of where this might have been going.

"It was like I saw Simmons as he does. I can't explain how I knew it was coming from Fitz, I just did. You know how they say when you're in love with a person you see them through rose coloured glasses? Well it's kind of true."

Ward sighed but couldn't help but see the irony in the situation. For years he, May and Coulson had wondered if there was more than friendship between Fitzsimmons. I guess now he knew. Also, May owed him $100.

"I felt everything he did when he looks at her." Skye couldn't help but smile as she remembered, even if she felt bad for gatecrashing Fitz's heart. "He loves her, Ward. Like crazy in love, the only light in the darkness kind of love. I know they are meant to be finding out what is going on with me but I couldn't oust him in front of her like that."

"It's okay, Skye. I'll take care of it." Ward said with a reassuring smile. "I'll show you to your room."

Ward began walking down the corridor and Skye jogged after him. _Stupid tall person with stupid long legs._

"Wait what do you mean, 'you'll take care of it'. You aren't going to tell Simmons, are you. I mean she probably feels the same way but isn't their some sort of bro code that says you can't throw the poor guy under a bus like that."

Skye's outburst even earned a soft laugh from Ward as he came to a stop infron of a door bearing the number 306.

"What is this place? Hotel up top, secret lab in the basement?" Skye asked becoming momentarily distracted.

"It was a S.H.I.E.L.D. safehouse for all agents until they moved their base of operations underground. When our team broke up, Fitzsimmons demanded their own lab so they could continue their independent projects. They are the best so they gave them thisdecommissioned base and an unlimited, no questions budget. You don't have to worry. No one comes here. It isn't even on S.H.I.E.L.D. records anymore."

"It's okay, I trust you G-man." Skye said. "And you still haven't told me how you are going to 'handle' it."

"I've been meaning to tell Fitz to man up for years." Ward said with a smile that bordered on devious. "Now that I know I'm right I'm going to have a little chat with him."

Ward the matchmaker? Who would have thought? Skye never ceased to be amazed by him.

"Okay then cupid." Skye scoffed as she opened her door taking in the beautiful pre-war room filled with hard wood furniture. It was simple but beautiful. Everything looked old but not in a delapitaded way. More of an antiquite, frozen in time kind of way.

"Wow... When did you say this place was decommissioned?" Skye asked Ward as he stood in the doorway behind her.

"During WWII. They moved operations underground for safety during the bombings." Ward answered. "S.H.I.E.L.D. gave Fitzsimmons a huge renovation budget when they moved in but I guess they liked the history. I can see why."

"Me too." Skye smiled, looking over at the tall wrought iron bed longingly.

"Bathroom is through that door on the left and their is a kitchen at the end of the hall on the right. Fitzsimmons live on this floor so they keep it fully stocked, help yourself. Once I've spoken to Fitz I'll come and get you. We can go out if you want." Ward said.

"Really?" Skye squealed. She had always wanted to see London but she hadn't held much hope during this visit.

"Yeah, really." Ward answered with the hint of a soft smile. "I saw you gazing out the window on our way here. We have no reason to suspect anyone knows you are here and I'm here to protect you, not keep you prisoner. I'll see if Fitzsimmons want to join us."

"Sounds great." Skye answered, genuinely excited.

"See you soon." Ward said, closing her door behind him.

Skye looked up at the clock to see it was just after 3pm. As she heard her tummy grumble, she decided that her first stop would be the kitchen. She deposited her bag on the bed and followed Ward's directions down the hall where she found a large kitchen and dining room. After a quick sandwich, Skye made her way back to her room and decided on a shower. She knew it was probably irrational but even two hours on a plane in recycled air shared with another 200 people, she felt gross. Maybe it wasn't so irrational at all.

It was just before 6 when Ward knocked on Skye's door again.

"Hey, are we heading out?" Skye asked when she answered, carrying her jacket over her arm.

"Yeah. Simmons is waiting for the test results and Fitz is still running a whole bunch of things on his computer that I don't understand so they are going to come with us."

"Great. How was your _chat_." Skye asked, curious to know how things had gone with Fitz.

"Well, your radar is spot on. He caved as soon as I asked him straight out." Ward said, remembering the stricken panic on Fitz's face just before all his deepest darkest secrets had come spilling out of his mouth almost too quickly for Ward to follow. "We will see whether he tells Simmons."

"I give it two days... max." Ward said with a sly smile as Skye shut her door behind her snd followed him down the hall.

"You didn't feel what I did. I give it less than a day before he caves." Skye threw back at him.

"You're on."

* * *

Once Fitz and Simmons had met them in the bare lobby they made their way to the nearest underground station. Skye couldn't help but giggle at the robotic woman who reminded her to "mind the gap" as the doors closed. Ward rolled his eyes at her but she didn't care if it was cheesy or touristy, she was going to enjoy it while she could.

They only stayed on the train for a 10 minutes, going through all the stations straight off a Monopoly board, before getting off at Piccadilly Circus. They followed the stream of people moving towards the exit and Skye couldn't help but notice Ward's eyes darting around and the firm hand on her back as he guided her through the crowd. It was obvious he didn't like the crowds and that he was letting them go out tonight for her, to keep her sane. She was incredibly thankful and made a mental note to let him know the next time the got a quiet minute.

They all followed Simmons as she led the way and Skye couldn't help but watch the way Fitz gazed at Simmons as she bounced along in front of us. How had no body else seen it? She knew that they had suspected but it was written clearly all over his face. More to the point, how had Simmons not noticed?

Skye's thoughts were cut short as they surfaced up on the street and she couldn't contain a soft gasp. There were people bustling around her; street performers, excited tourists and locals that seemed bored with the whole affair. All around them, huge LED billboards towered above them and though Skye had never been to Times Square she couldn't help but draw a comparison. She smiled as she saw a huge road sign pointing to Trafalgar Square. She couldn't help but look up at Ward with the biggest smile she had worn in days. It was so bright and infectious Ward couldn't help but return it.

"Come on, Skye. You have to see this." Simmons said, grabbing her arm and pulling her towards a store right near the exit of the station. It was a huge, branded with the name "Cool Britannia" in giant letters. Between the heads of the crowd that had gathered at the entrance, Skye spotted a man dressed in a gaudy Union Jack suit who was working the crowd and taking pictures with tourists. It was so unashamedly cheesy. Skye loved it.

Jemma dragged her inside while Fitz and Ward followed and Skye laughed at the Mini parked right inside the store, painted completely with a Union Jack. After 20 minutes of looking through all the tacky souveniers Skye exited with a tiny double decker bus figurine and an I heart London hoodie that Simmons has insisted she buy for her.

"Can we eat now? I'm bloody starving." Fitz grumbled.

"Oh Fitz, don't be so grumpy. I remember the first time I brought you here." Simmons laughed grabbing on to Fitz arm and leaning in to him.

Skye expected him to tense at her touch, knowing how he felt about Simmons. She was surprised though when the tension he had been holding in his posture melted away as he leaned into her as well. This wasn't a pupply love infatuation, Skye noted to herself. It was the kind of deep, companionable love he had held on to for years. And watching how comfortable Jemma was in return made Skye sure that it wasn't entirely one sided.

After a long stop at a noisy but homely pub that served the best meals and pints (according to Simmons) they walked to Trafalgar Square. Skye ran around the fountains and giant bronze lions like a child on a sugar high and Ward couldn't help but be infected by her enthusiasm.

"This is fantastic!" Skye beamed, her eyes wide and her hair a mess, as she ran up to Ward.

"I'm glad you like it." Ward answered with a wide smile. Before he realised what he was doing he reached up to tuck her windswept hair behind her ear.

"You know, I used to think you were a robot." Skye said softly, well aware of the electricity crackling in the air around them. "Now I'm not so sure."

"Well I guess I feel relaxed around you. Which is weird because I'm usually anything but." Ward answered, pausing to consider just how profound that realisation was.

"Oh my god. I'm sorry. Are my freak powers doing something to you. I swear I'm not doing it on purpose." Skye rambled.

"Skye relax." Ward soothed though he couldn't hold back a smile at her reaction. "I said _you_ make me feel relaxed, not your powers."

"Oh." Skye mumbled softly, becoming acutely aware of how close they had become. She was also aware that they were standing beside a beautiful fountain in the moonlight, mere inches apart. Her eyes flickered down to Ward's lips and she could have sworn she saw Ward's to the same to hers.

All of a sudden, Skye was jolted from behind as someone ran into her in the busy square. She was sent crashing into Ward's chest which ordinarily wouldn't have been a bad thing except the moment was broken. Slowly she pulled herself (regretfully) out of Ward's arms and regained her balance.

Instead they were left to watch Fitzsimmons having a moment of their own as Simmon's chatted at a million miles an hour, pointing things out to him as he murmered in agreement, his eyes never once leaving her. Ward and Skye exchanged knowing looks, as though they knew every secret of the universe.

Before too long, they all decided it was time to head back for the night and they retraced they way back through the underground to the old safe house. As they walked into the Lobby and got to the elevator, Simmons announced that she was going to the lab to check on her tests and Fitz muttered something about also checking a simulation though he didn't sound entirely convinced.

Skye smirked at Ward as they all go in the elevator and it stayed firmly in place as Fitzsimmons got out at the lab and they said their goodnights.

"I'm so gunna win this bet, Robot." Skye teased as soon as the elevator doors closed.

"You know we never actually decided on a wager for this bet." Ward replied.

"Bragging rights of course." Skye said, rolling her eyes.

"If you say so." Ward laughed as they exited the elevator and made their way to their rooms.

"Just you wait..." Skye said with that cocky, knowing tone that made Ward roll his eyes.

"Goodnight, Skye." Ward said as he opened his door.

"Night." Skye replied and shot him one last smile before she closed her door behind her.

Skye took a moment to rest her back on the closed door, remembering the amazing night and the way Ward had looked at her in that moment. She had always been able to read people with uncanny accuracy through Ward was something different entirely. She knew from the first moment she could trust him but she had entirely misjudged his character. He wasn't a robotic g-man just following orders. She knew now that he was loyal, feircely protective and even playful when he wanted to be. She had never met anyone with quite so many layers. So many hidden facets that he only let show when he felt comfortable. She had imagined why he kept so much of himself hidden but the more she thought about it the more she didn't want to. She knew his training could only be partly to blame.

She was in immesurable danger, thousands of miles from everything she knew but still Skye was utterly at peace. Who would have thought that flying half way around the world and knowing amazing people for mere days would give her the closest thing to home that she had ever had. She knew it was mostly because of Ward. Her whole life she had never had anyone who wanted to protect her. No one who's sole mission was to keep her safe. She used to think that was okay. Skye was no shrinking violet; she had taken care of herself just fine. Now that she had someone in her corner though, she knew it was always better to have someone looking out for you.

Before Skye could spend all night over analysing she quickly changed and got ready for bed. Just as she pulled her blankets back to climb into the bed she had been covetting all day she heard a dull thud coming from the hallway. Curious, she peeked a head out her door and grinned widely at what she saw. Apparently Fitlzsimmons had that talk.

Skye watched as they stumbled down the hallway, inexplicably attached at the lips. Apparently though, they were much too absorbed in their activities to notice Skye peeking through her door. Just when Skye is about to return to her own room to give them their privacy, Simmons roughly pushed Fitz against the door and kissed him even more forcefully. _Woah feisty Simmons_, Skye thought to herself. _Fitz, you lucky, lucky man._

They quickly dissapeared into what Skye assumes is one of their bedrooms. Thankfully it is far enough down the hall that she couldn't hear anything else except for a soft chuckle from behind her. She turned and saw Ward peaking out of his door just as she was.

"I hate to say i told you so..." Skye trailed off with that same smirk she had worn when she made this very prediction. "Wait no i don't."

Ward just looked at her with the widest most geniune smile that lit up his whole face and stole Skye's breath.

"Night." Skye said again, moving to close her door.

"Goodnight." Ward replied. "Though not as good as theirs, apparently."

They both laughed softly when they heard what could only be a large peice of furniture falling over.

With one last smile they both returned to their rooms and shut their doors.

_Yep, don't over analyse,_ Skye told herself, determined to finally go to bed. It took her a while to fall asleep, especially with the soft ghosts of giggles that she swore she head filtering down the hallway. Soon though, she was dreaming about bronze lions, fountains and deep brown eyes.

Just before sunrise Skye was woken by a shrill ringing from somewhere in her room. In her barely awake daze it took her a moment to realise it the desperately outdated phone she had been careful to keep fully charged since this whole saga began. The seemingly innocuous object continued to ring as Skye watched it with panicked eyes while her chest constricted so tight she could barely breath. She had only one frenzied thought as she watched it vibrate across the bedside table… _Cuba._

Before she even had a chance to process what she is doing, Skye grabbed the phone and tears out of bed, sprinting down the hall to pound furiously on Ward's door. He opened in it in mere seconds, suddenly wide awake with a pistol clasped tightly in his right hand. Ward looked her over with the carefully controlled alarm of a trained operative, checking the hall outside before settling back on Skye. It then he noticed the object that Skye was squeezing so tightly in her small fist that her knuckles were turning as white as her terrified face. He immediately knew and his stomach dropped...

_They're coming for her._

* * *

So there we go. Just so you know, Skye's reaction to London/Picadilly Circus is basically my own and I even did a tiny collage of pictures of things that I mention in the story using my own holiday snaps. Check it out on my Tumblr.

post/89854814598/a-little-collage-of-happy-snaps-to-go-with-chapter

Please leave a review to let me know what you thought.


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